The ORION variable
by DragoonFRC3352
Summary: Basically AU from Halo 4 onward, though their is some mention of Hunt the Truth. If you are not high school aged or younger, do not enter, and if you do, do not complain to me.
1. Damage Output Comparison

Legal Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to either Halo or Mass Effect, own copies of the games, not the rights to sell/make money off of them. The only things in this story that I own are any OC's that show up, and any changes to the Story.

Warnings: This story will contain lots of violence, death, possible lemons/limes, and explosions, also a giant fire berating Turkey if I can figure out how to incorporate it into the story. Parings, if any, are undecided as of now, leaning towards Shep/Harem though. By the way, Male Shepard.

Chapter Disclaimer: just an explanation/rant on why the Council will not stand a chance in this fic.

Damage output comparisons

Destiny Ascension

Main gun length- 1,000 meters

Yield- 60.5 kt per shot; 1.815 mt over the course of a minute

Turrian Dreadnaught

Main gun Length- 700-800 meters

Yield 29 kt per shot; in and around one megaton per minute

UNSC frigate

Main gun length- less than 300 meters

Yield-64.53kt; lengthy reload times

Conclusions, whilst Council ships would Damage UNSC ships given enough time or numbers, the fact that the Destiney Ascension can rip through just about anybody's barriers with one shot indicates that the UNSC would be able to one-hit-kill pretymuch everything smaller than a Council dreadnaught, barriers or no. Meanwhile the council would have to get through the Forerunner based shields on UNSC and Covenant ships, these shields have been recorded surviving multiple MAC rounds without failing, meaning that in order for the council fleets to take out a human or covenant ship a council dreadnaught would have to hammer away at a UNSC/Covenant ship for several minutes without being destroyed its self, or they would have to bring multiple dreadnaughts to bear on a single target in order to breach its shields. The fact that the big three Council races only have 75 dreadnaughts all together at the start of the reaper war, plus the fact that a UNSC fleet totals in at a minimum of 75 ships, equals curbstompng of Council in open war. And anybody who tries to say that the Voulus could help them out or something…WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT COULD A SPIECIES WITH NO MILITARY OF THEIR OWN PROVIDE IN THIS SITUATION. Shure, they could provide the big three with resources to make more ships; but that takes time, time that they just would not have in an ongoing war; and even in peace time, at their normal production levels it took the council races 3 years to add 5 dreadnaughts to their arsenal, with one other having been retired, and this is with humanity stepping up production after gaining a council seat. Now, assuming that plans for the SSV Logan started immediately after Mass Effect One ended, that's still three years from planning to launch, and that three year gap would prove fatal in a war where your very survival hinges on ships like the one your building, remember, it would take concentrated fire from multiple dreadnaughts to destroy a UNSC Cruiser class ship with Forerunner shields in a timely fashion; and whilst the council is concentrating on one ship, the UNSC can destroy the council fleet at their pleasure, and the council would never be able to replace the ships and personal they lose before they were forced into an unconditional surrender. Now even if the big three are able to justify an increase in military spending to their respective governments, in order to stand a chance in a war with the UNSC and the Covies, they would still need to be able to build and crew thousands of dreadnaught-class ships before the conflict started; and they just don't have the people to do that, nor do they have the time to get that many people the old fashioned way (wink wink, nudge nudge).

NOTE 1: the mass-accelerator yields assume they fire rounds the same size as the one mentioned by the alliance sergeant in ME2, although some discrepancies in size are possible, it is unlikely they would be much bigger than the 20 kg size mentioned given the operating principles of the guns in question.

NOTE 2: this also assumes that the former covenant races do not get involved, which they will. Plasma torpedoes and energy projectors will bypass Council Kinetic Barriers.

NOTE 3: this does start about 100 years after the beginning of the Human-Covenant war, so if you factor in all the technological advancements that will have happened in that time, the Council's going to be Fucked if they go to war, and the Batarrians are already dead men walking.

NOTE 4: disrupter torpedoes might be a threat depending on how many of them make it past the point defense guns

NOTE 5: Assuming that the council has the facilities to build 25 Dreadnaughts at a time (come on, that's accounts for over half the Turrian fleet and is around half of what the Salarians and Asari have combined) it would realistically take over 300 years to produce enough ships to be a threat.

NOTE 6: The above note assumes that they could also increase production capacity to replace ships that were decommissioned, and build additional facilities in order to perform the necessary repairs/resupply's/retrofits to existing ships without adversely affecting production, and that they could find the resources to build and _**fuel**_ the ships in question. Yea, I think I made my point.


	2. Timeline

Legal Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to either Halo or Mass Effect, own copies of the games, not the rights to sell/make money off of them. The only things in this story that I own are any OC's that show up, and any changes to the Story.

Warnings: This story will contain lots of violence, death, possible lemons/limes, and explosions, also a giant fire berating Turkey if I can figure out how to incorporate it into the story. Parings, if any, are undecided as of now, leaning towards Shep/Harem though. By the way, Male Shepard.

Chapter Disclaimer: I tried to match up the timelines in a way that made sense, hope it works.

Accessing Database

Please Specify Topic of Interest

{Human history major events 0 (Military Calendar) to Council contact}

{Overlay with Council species history}

Please Wait

Access to Historical Database Granted

Opening Log

0- (Military Calendar), year 743 Before Council Era to year 0 Council Era

The Roman Empire rises and falls.

743 (Military Calendar), year 0 Council Era

The Asari and Selarians form the Citadel Council. First contact with the Volus, Batarians, Hanar, Quarians, and Elcor. Turrian Unification war rages.

1243-2116 (Military Calendar), year 500-1373 Council Era

The Ranchi wars begin and end, Krogan fist contact and uplifting. Krogan Rebellions begin, Turrian first contact, Genofage deployment ends the Rebellions, Turrians given Council seat and the Citadel Conventions are written.

The crusades, Spanish inquisition, Dark Ages, Italian Renaissance, the Age of Revolution, World Wars One and Two, and the Cold War occur on earth. Humanity takes its first steps into space leading to the colonization of the Moon (Luna), Mars, the Jovian Moons, and select asteroids in the 2080s.

2160 (Military Calendar), year 1417 Council Era

Jovian secessionists attack UN Colonial Advisors on Io. Three months later, the Jovian Moons Campaign ends, and is later recognized as one of the bloodiest wars in human history. Tensions between the various national governments escalate, militarization skyrockets, war is inevitable.

2162-69 (Military Calendar), year 1419-26 Council Era

The Rainforest Wars are fought, the conflicts, although centralized in the South American Cotenant, spark additional conflicts in space. The UN establishes the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) to handle the extra planetary conflicts, the UNSC quickly gains public and political support and eventually assumes control over the entirety of the UN military. The UNSC Marine corps is deployed to mars, the operation is a resounding success and the Marines soon become the core of the UNSC ground forces.

2170 (Military Calendar), year 1470 Council Era

Following the end of the rainforest wars, the UN is replaced by the United Earth Government (UEG). The UEG is faced with three main problems; first, Overpopulation; second, a massive military with no enemy to fight; third, huge amounts of destruction and famine caused by the Rainforest Wars.

2291 (Military Calendar), year 1548 Council Era

A team of physicists and mathematicians secretly develop the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, capable of opening a hole into "Slipspace" allowing for faster-than-light (FTL) travel, though scientists quickly note inconsistencies with travel times between stars. It is theorized that this is due to "eddies" or "currents" within Slipspace. Although not a problem for typical civilian and commercial use, it causes problems for military tacticians and strategists when quardinating attacks.

2310 (Military Calendar), year 1567 Council Era

With conditions on Earth deteriorating, the UEG unveils the first in a line of colony ships. Many hitch a ride on these colony ships in order to escape from the vastly overpopulated Earth. The UEG also attaches military personnel to the colonies in order to better utilize the massive (and expensive) UNSC fleets. Do to the "newness" and cost of FTL travel, all citizens and soldiers involved face extensive physical and mental testing. This is the birth of the Inner Colonies, whose people are later considered to be the elite, the best and brightest.

2385 (Military Calendar), year 1642 Council Era

The Geth achieve self-awareness, Quarians attempt to exterminate them, but are stopped and forced to flee their home world and colonies. Quarian Embassy on the Citadel closed by order of the Council.

2390 (Military Calendar), year 1647 Council Era

Colonization of Inner Colonies is fully underway. Humanity now controls 210 worlds in various stages of terraforming, and population burden across Human space has stabilized.

2490(Military Calendar), year 1747 Council Era

Human expansion continues at a rapid pace, with over 800 worlds throughout the Orion Arm of the Milky Way (colonies range from well-tamed strongholds to tiny hinterland settlements. Reach becomes the UNSC's primary shipbuilding yard and training academy, as well as a training ground for covert operatives and Special Forces.

2491 (Military Calendar), year 1748 Council Era

As insurrectionist activities in the outer colonies increases, the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) starts the ORION Program, later renamed the Spartan-program, in an effort to create soldier capable of handling the growing threat. The genetic and chemical enhancements succeed in enhancing the strength, speed, and reaction times of the volunteer soldiers involved, but results are far below expectations and deemed cost ineffective. The project is eventually shut down and all soldiers transferred to other units.

2510-11 (Military Calendar), year 1767-68 Council Era

The children that would later be part of the SPARTAN-2 program are born. The Freedom and Liberation Party detonates a nuke in the Haven Arcology residential building on Mamore, 2 million civilians are killed and 8.3 million injured.

2517 (Military Calendar), year 1774 Council Era

Over the course of several months, Dr. Catharine Elizabeth Halsey, an ONI civilian attaché and mastermind behind the Spartan-2 program and related projects, discreetly visits and interviews the children selected for the program. Of the 150 candidates only 75 are selected for the program. These boys and girls are replaced with flash clones and spirited away to Reach were their training begins. Over the next eight years they are trained to be the best soldiers possible.

2525 (Military Calendar), year 1782 Council Era

The Spartan trainees go through the toughest part of their training, the augmentation proses. Despite thorough testing, and the best efforts of some of the best doctors available, 30 of the trainees die, another dozen are injured to the point of being incapable of frontline service. The 33 trainees that survive intact are even more capable than originally predicted, or even hoped for. After a month or so of rehabilitation and training, the Spartans receive their first combat mission, which goes off without a hitch, only one casualty, John-117 shot in the chest, bullet bounced off his ribs and caused massive internal bleeding but avoided lethal injury. At around the same time, contact with the outer colony world Harvest is lost, the scout ship _Argo_ is dispatched to investigate. When the _Argo_ fails to make contact, a battle group consisting of the frigates _Araba_ and _Vostok_ and the destroyer _Hercules_ are dispatched to investigate. Moments after entering the system the battle group sights the Covenant cruiser _Rapid Conversion_ and attempt to make peaceful contact as per UNSC protocol, they receive a single transmission, in English, as a reply. " _Your destruction is the will of the Gods, and we are their instrument."_ The three ships are subsequently engaged by the Cruiser and soundly defeated within ten seconds, the _Araba_ and _Vostok_ are destroyed and the _Hercules_ barley manages to escape, the badly damaged ship arrives at Reach several weeks later and spreads the Alarm; the Human-Covenant war has begun.

2526-52 (Military Calendar), year 1783-09 Council Era

The Human-Covenant war rages, over half the human controlled worlds, along with their populations, are wiped out despite the best efforts of the UNSC. The Covenant's technological advantage renders the UNSC's best tacticians and strategists incapable of fighting back in space. The UNSC takes control away from the UEG for the sake of efficiency.

2552 (Military Calendar), year 1809 Council Era

After reading a general memo sent from a deep space listening post, Commander Jacob Keyes of the destroyer UNSC _Iroquois_ locates a Covenant fleet of four ships is about to attack the a colony in the Sigma Octanus system. Despite being outnumbered four-to-one and heavily outgunned, Keyes is able to achieve an unprecedented three kills, 2 frigates and one destroyer. The remaining covenant ship flees the system and UNSC forces rush in to secure and fortify against inevitable attack. The ensuing battle destroys 13 covenant ships of various tonnage, at the cost of 41 human ships and their crews. The _Iroquois_ returns to Reach to be Repaired, now Captain Keyes and most of the crew are transferred to the heavily modified Halcyon-class light-Cruiser _Pillar of Autumn_ to partake in operation Red-Flag, a last-ditch plan by ONI to end the war. The Covenant attack Reach with the largest fleet yet assembled. UNSC forces fight valiantly but only succeed in delaying the inevitable. The _Autumn_ , having broken off of Red-Flag to assist in the Defense of Reach, flees the system with Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, leader of the Spartan-2s on board. They stumble across the Forerunner ring-world Halo, the ensuing battle with covenant forces ends with the Halo being destroyed, along with most UNSC personnel in system. The Chief and what's left of the A _utumn_ 's crew and Marine complement hijack a covenant supper-carrier before returning to Reach wear they locate and Rescue UNSC survivors, including the last of the Spartan-2s and Dr. Halsey. Halsey later flees to onyx perused by the Spartans, save for John who is called back to earth to report to HighCom. The Covenant attack Earth. The Chief, assisted by Lieutenant Commander Miranda Keyes (daughter of Cap. Keyes, KIA) peruse the Prophet of regret to a second Halo. The Great Schism Begins and the Elites ally with the Humans. Flood out break kills all prophets other than the High Prophet of Truth, who flees to earth on a Forerunner ship. The Chief and company follow and discover truths plan to fire all six remaining Halos at once using the Ark, a Forerunner facility accessible only through a device hidden on Earth eons ago. The battle of the Ark takes place resulting in the death of Truth and destruction of the Ark. The Chief is declared MIA.

January 2553 (Military Calendar), year 1810 Council Era

Doctor Halsey and the other survivors of the Battle of Onyx are picked up by the UNSC _Port Stanley_ , an ONI _Prowler_ -class Corvette. The crew of the _Port Stanley_ have orders from ONI director Admiral Margret Prangosky to place Dr. Halsey under arrest and bring her to Earth.

March 2553 (Military Calendar), year 1810 Council Era

Following the Signing of a Treaty that officially ended the Human/Covenant War, Admiral Lord Terrance Hood Presides over the Dedication Ceremony for a Memorial to all those who died in the war.

post note- Human-Covenant war has cost over 23 billion lives and rendered many colonies uninhabitable

2555 (Military Calendar), year 1812 Council Era

The UNSC hands control back over to the UEG, reconstruction plans are drawn up for surviving colonies.

February 21st 2557 (Military Calendar), year 1814 Council Era

The UNSC _Infinity_ is officially launched, this is the first Dreadnaught-type Vessel to be constructed by the UNSC. The _infinity_ and the other ships of her class that would be built over the next few decades, would be equally suited for both combat and scientific exploration, and would serve as flagships for the navy.

Late July 2557 (Military Calendar), year 1814 Council Era

The Requiem incident occurs, several UNSC warships are heavily damaged, and several hundred thousand lives are lost, both in combat against the Didact's forces and in the firing of the Composer on the city of New Phoenix, mostly the latter. The Didact is killed by the Chief, who had crash landed on requiem. His AI unit, Cortana, sacrifices herself to help him escape the Didact's ship.

February-March 2558 (Military Calendar), year 1815 Council Era

The _Infinity_ returns to Requiem to eliminate the Covenant Remnant Fleet that regrouped their after the death of the Didact, they are also ordered to investigate why they remained on Requiem following the Didact's death. During a skirmish with Remnant and Promethean forces, Spartan IV fire team Crimson captured a Forerunner artifact referred to by the covenant as "the Didact's Gift". The _Infinity_ 's chief scientist, Dr. Hennery Glassman, attempted to examine the artifact, but it emitted an energy pulse that transported the good doctor to a remnant controlled facility. Captain Lackey, _Infinity_ 's commanding officer, imeadialty contacted UNSC HIGHCOM to request the assistance of Humanity's leading expert on the Forerunners and their technology, Dr. Halsey. She is later kidnaped by Covenant Remnant leader Jul 'Mdama and made to activate a forerunner device housing the AI copy of the Librarian. The Librarian AI gives Halsey a device known as the Janus Key, which shows the locations of all Forerunner tech in the galaxy. Halsey attempts to escape, but is recaptured by 'Mdama. She manages to deliver half the Janus Key to a team of Spartan-4s who were sent to rescue her.

December 2558 (Military Calendar), year 1815 Council Era

ONI hires Benjamin Giraud to do a documentary on The Chief and the Spartan Program, he discovers the truth of the program and is about to be taken out by an ONI hit-squad when he is saved by "Fire Team Orion", a black opps group under Lord Hoods command, he offers Mr. Giraud protection and un restricted access to relevant records in exchange for his help in yanking authority away from ONI. The documentary airs on multiple networks unedited with lord hood personally vouching for its authenticity. ONI suffers heavy hits to its public image and loose huge amounts of power and autonomy as a result. The chief and all remaining Spartan-2s and 3s are offered a chance to retire by the UEG in a very public ceremony. To the dismay of UEG officials, the Spartans decline the offer and request to continue serving as a unit. Their request is granted and they are assigned to the _Infinity_ , John-117 is promoted to Commander and is placed in charge of the Spartan-4s on board; Sarah Palmer, the former C.O. of the Spartans on infinity steps down to take command of a fire team. The _Infinity_ later intercepts a message from Ambassador Richard Sekibo to the UEG requesting military aid to handle a growing threat to the peace talks on planet Biko. The _Infinity_ deploys Blue Team and a Stalwart-class frigate to investigate and provide support as needed. Blue Team subsequently saves Ambassador Sekibo and the Sangheili delegation from a Human-Supremacist group known as Sapien-Sunrise without harming civilians. As word of the incident spreads, an unknown individual leaks a copy of Sekibo's request for assistance, and the UEG's automated rejection, to the media. The UEG suffers from a public opinion backlash as a result. The UNSC simultaneously gains public support and approval.

2559 (Military Calendar), year 1816 Council Era

UNSC forces find and disable 'Mdama's ship. A number of Spartan fire teams board the ship to free Halsey, and kill anything that tries to stop them. Jul 'Mdama and many of his subordinates are killed. Halsey is brought back to earth were she receives a fair trial for her supposed treason back in 2552. She is deemed innocent and cleared of all charges by the court. Not long after this the UNSC and UEG leaders receive a mysterious data file containing full records of all of ONI's dirty secrets; it is decided to keep most of the information a secret from the general public, whilst using the rest to rally public support for the gutting of ONI.

2560-65 (Military Calendar), year 1817-22 Council Era

The UNSC pressures the UEG into opining serious negotiations with remaining insurrectionists (innies), a new form of government is created for Human space which gives representation to all planets and ensures a fair distribution of resources. Some small pockets of radical innies remain, but are quickly put down. The UEG is replaced by the Terran Federation, and plans to gradually transition the UNSC into the Terran Self Defense Forces (TSDF) are made (for the most part, this just means a new name and a change in what's written on the paychecks). Terraforming of Reach begins, not long after the UNSC _Spirit of Fire_ drifts in system, the ship and surviving crew are returned home to joyous celebrations and tearful reunions.

2570 (Military Calendar), year 1827 Council Era

Terran officials are approached by the Sangheili with a proposal for an inter-species alliance. Despite lingering fears and doubts spawned by the war, the Terran Federation agrees to the proposal and the Species Alliance is born.

2586 (Military Calendar), year 1843 Council Era

TSDF has exceeded pre-war UNSC sizes, addition of shields to newer warships and repurposed old ones makes the TSDF a formidable foe.

2592 (Military Calendar), year 1849 Council Era

With assistance from the Alliance, the worlds lost in the Human-Covenant war are re-terraformed and livable once again, though the decision is made to leave harvest untouched as a memorial to all who lost their lives in the war.

2607 (Military Calendar), year 1864 Council Era

Construction begins on the Museum of Humanity.

2620 (Military Calendar), year 1877 Council Era

Alliance joint colony world Shanxi is attacked by a Batarian fleet. Alliance forces rush in to both aid in the defense, and begin a counter attack.


	3. Codex

Legal Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to either Halo or Mass Effect, own copies of the games, not the rights to sell/make money off of them. The only things in this story that I own are any OC's that show up, and any changes to the Story.

Warnings: This story will contain lots of violence, death, possible lemons/limes, and explosions, also a giant fire berating Turkey if I can figure out how to incorporate it into the story. Parings, if any, are undecided as of now, leaning towards Shep/Harem though. By the way, Male Shepard.

Chapter Disclaimer: Information on the Alliance in the form of a codex entry, this is more or less what the council races will know about the "newcomers" after the Batarian beat down.

Codex Entry-Species Alliance

Alliance Government

The Species Alliance, formed in 2570 (1827 CE) by the Terran Federation and the Sangheili Confederacy, could be considered as being similar to the Citadel Council, unlike the Council however, all species save one have a voice in the Alliance. The Alliance is governed from Arcturus Station and is ruled by a Representative Council comprised of Military and Political Officials appointed by the Governments of the respective member species. The Representative Council Makes decisions for the Alliance as a whole, but Representatives must consult with their Species' leader(s) before making a decision. Each Species may govern itself as it sees fit. The only Alliance Species that doesn't have a place on the Representative Council are the Huragok's, who apparently have no desire to help run the Alliance, though they are apparently protected from persecution by Alliance Law

Alliance Members- The alliance is comprised of the Terran Federation, the Sangheili Confederacy, the Unggoy Union, the Mgalekgolo Colective, the Kig-Yar Dominion, the Jirahanae Empire, and the Yanme'e Hive Alliance

Terran Federation

The Terran Federation, governing body of all human worlds, is run by an Authoritarian-Democracy style of government headed by a President who handles major decisions, the President must have served at least five years in the TSDF in order to obtain his/her position. The Federal Parliament handles the day to day running of the Federation as well as proposals for laws that are sent to the president for approval, and is comprised of representatives from all federation worlds; representation is determined by population with one representative for every 10,000 people on a given world, though all worlds with more than a hundred residents has at least one representative. Each Federation Colony is allowed a degree of self-rule, although they must adhere to a basic set of laws outlined in the Federal Constitution.

The military arm of the Terran Federation is the Terran Self Defense Force (TSDF), consisting of an Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and an Air Force.

Former Covenant Races

The Sangheili Confederacy is a kind of military dictator ship led by the council of Arbiters, the three greatest warriors, strategists, and tacticians among the Sangheili. The Arbiters tend to allow the various worlds under their control to govern themselves, though they require all able bodied adults to serve a term in either then Confederate or Alliance Military.

The Unggoy Union is ruled by a Parliament comprised of Representatives from each world they govern.

The Mgalekgolo Colective isn't really a government per-se, it's more of a representative body of the Mgalekgolo Colonies, all of whom are capable of Communicating with each other in a Hive-Mind-ish fashion.

The Kig-Yar Dominion is a loosely aligned group of worlds governed by a council of leaders. They have no one set method of controlling their worlds.

The Jirahanae Empire is ruled by the High Chieftain, who is appointed to his position by the Council of Chieftains. The individual Chieftains each control their own Pack and often fight each other over territory, resources, and slights to pack and individual Honor.

The Yanme'e Hive Alliance is ruled by the Hive Queens who rule over their respective Hives.

Diplomatic Relations Between Alliance Species

Considering they were in the middle of waging a genocidal war against each other less than a century ago, and a mere 18 years before the formation of the Alliance, diplomatic relations between humanity and the member species of the former Covenant Empire are surprisingly good. Relations between Humans and Sangheili in particular are unbelievably positive, with several humans having been adopted and raised by Sangheili.

Alliance Military

All Species in the Alliance have their own militaries, but also provide personnel and equipment for the Alliance Joint Military Command (AJMC). AJMC Forces are commanded by the Officer with the highest rank, and most experience present.

The AJMC Navy is divided into five fleets of roughly a hundred ships each. AJMC fleets are comprised of a variety of ships but generally consist of one CSO-class Super Carrier supported by 20-30 Capital ships and even more Cruisers, Frigates, Destroyers, and Corvettes.

The AJMC doesn't technically have its own ground forces, it does however have Rapid Reaction Forces (RRF) comprised of around 50 warships and between 20 and 30 troop transports loaded down with forces on loan from member species militaries, these RRFs are typically posted so as to respond to attacks on Alliance worlds within two or three days at the most, though response times differ depending on distance from the dispatch point; although originally intended to respond to invasions from outside alliance territory or planetary rebellions, since contact with the Batarrians, the RRFs have adopted the tactic of breaking themselves up into Squadrons deployed throughout the main RRF's coverage area in order to respond better respond to pirate and slaver attacks.

Alliance ship classifications are varied deepening on the spices who builds the ships. Former Covenant ships range in size from 900 meter long Corvettes, to 28km long Super Carriers. Terran Ships range in size from 50-400 meter long corvettes, to 3km long Super Carriers. The term Capital-ship refers to any Alliance vessel of 1500 meters or more in length, and encompasses a wide variety of ship classes.

The TSDF, military arm of the Terran Federation and the military most commonly encountered by Non-Alliance Species visiting Alliance Territory, is headed by the Federation President, who serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Assisting him are the Joint Chiefs, the highest ranking officers of their respective branches of the TSDF. The Joint Chiefs pass orders from the President to the Generals and Admirals who in turn pass these orders onto the troops under their command.

The TSDF Navy is commanded by the Fleet Admiral and divided into over 20 fleets of 70 or more ships. These fleets are commanded by either an Admiral or a Vice-Admiral and comprised of one or more Capital-ships, several Cruiser Squadrons, Frigate/Destroyer Flotillas, and Corvette Wolf-Packs. TSDF Cruiser-class vessels are commanded by at least a Captain, TSDF Frigates and Destroyers are commanded by at least a Commander, and Corvettes assigned to the regular Navy are commanded by at least a Lieutenant. Corvettes assigned to the Federation Intelligence Service (FIS) are typically commanded by a commander or Captain. All TSDF warships have a contingent of Marines that varies in size depending on the size of the vessel in question. All TSDF Vice-Admirals, Admirals, and the Fleet Admiral have a Capital ship as their Flag-ship

The TSDF Army is the primary infantry force of the TSDF, commanded by the General of the Army and broken up into divisions of around 10,000 soldiers plus vehicles, individual divisions are broken up into regiments, companies, platoons and squads of various sizes. Army Divisions are commanded by at least a Major General, regiments by at least a Lieutenant-Colonel, companies by at least a Captain, platoons by at least a 2ndLieutenant, and squads by Sergeants. Army units often serve as planetary Garrisons and reinforce marine units invading hostile worlds during times of war.

The TSDF Marine Corps is smaller in size than the Army, but more maneuverable given that marines are almost always assigned to ships. The Marine Corps falls under the command of the Fleet Admiral but have a Separate chain of Command from the Navy. Organizationally, they're functionally similar to the army but individual Regiments, companies, and platoons are often spread out amongst several vessels. Marines rarely serve in planetary garrisons and spearhead planetary invasions, securing landing zones for the Army units that follow them should the invasion drag on for too long.

The TSDF Air Force is the smallest of all the branches and their units are only found on worlds of significant importance to the TSDF and the Federation as a whole.

The former Covenant races all operate joint military units, with individual species fulfilling specific roles based upon their capabilities.

Whilst humans have largely gotten over the fear and resentment from the Human-Covenant war, most human warships still don't have non-human crew-members outside the occasional Huragok. The primary reason for this is that most human vessels are built with humans in mind, and thus lack comfortable living and working space for non-humans. That said, all human vessels assigned to the AJMC have received some form of modifications to accommodate non-human crew-members.

Whilst identical in organization and function to their Council counterparts, the Navies of the Alliance and its members employ several ship-types never before seen by Council-species, though the Turrian Hierarchy in particular seems to be looking into the possibility of developing their own versions of these vessles

Destroyers-vessels the size of a frigate that are specialized for attacking enemy vessels, they are more heavily armed and armored than a standard frigate,

Battle Cruisers- the smallest capital-ships employed by the TSDF and some of the Largest in the Navies of the former Covenant races, Battle Cruisers are typically not designed to attack other capital ships, but rather to decimate formations of smaller vessels. More heavily armed and maneuverable than the cruisers their respective navies field, Battle Cruisers lack the Armor that ships their size would otherwise have, to compensate for this weakness, they generally have stronger than average shields.

Carriers- Vessels the size of the respective navies Dreadnaughts, Carriers are not as heavily armed as you might expect, swapping out most of the offensive power associated with Dreadnaught-class vessels in exchange for an enormous boost in Hanger space for Fighters, Interceptors, and Bombers.


	4. Chapter 1

Authors note: I'm deeply sorry if the battle sceen is a little under whelming, i just could not get the epicness that i saw in my mind to translate onto the page.

Legal Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to either Halo or Mass Effect, own copies of the games, not the rights to sell/make money off of them. The only things in this story that I own are any OC's that show up, and any changes to the Story.

Warnings: This story will contain lots of violence, death, possible lemons/limes, and explosions, also a giant fire berating Turkey if I can figure out how to incorporate it into the story. Parings, if any, are undecided as of now, leaning towards Shep/Harem though. By the way, Male Shepard.

Chapter Disclaimer: Just a starting point, the battle scene did not turn out how I wanted, but at least no important characters died. I also came up with my own basic thoughts on how the Hegemony might be governed using what little is available on the subject.

"Speaking"

" _Thinking"_

"AI"

" **Radio"**

June 13th 2620 (Military Calendar), year 1877 Council Era

Jacob Keyes-class Destroyer _Wrath of Hades_

Joint-colony system Shanxi

Artifact designation F.T.L.C.-S.T.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Vilmos Longbotom was bored out of his mind. He had enlisted strait out of high school in order to get away from the backwater colony he was born and raised on, he had displayed a talent for leadership and was put into the officers' training program, which he graduated from with flying colors, and yet hear he was, navigator on destroyer assigned to yet another freaking backwater colony. He understood the necessity of course, Shanxi was a joint colony and need nothing but the best guarding it, but come on; he graduated thirtieth of his class of 300 cadets, at least put him somewhere exiting. The only thing of note in the entire system was the artifact of unknown origin at the edge of the system, and the scientists couldn't even figure out what the hell it was.

"You look like you want to complain about something." He heard a feminine voice say.

Turning away from his console he saw that the speaker was Lieutenant Commander (LtC.) Veronica Santiago, executive officer on the _Hades_ , she, like almost everyone on the _Hades_ , had never been in serious combat before, just war games and the occasional pirate attack. The main reason she was a LtC. was because of her seniority and observational skills, and because her father was an admiral, not that she likes the special treatment.

"It's nothing Ma'am."

"Don't even try to lie to me Lieutenant. What's bugging you?"

Vilmos just sighed, "It's just that, I enlisted to get away from a backwater colony in the ass-end of nowhere, and where's my first posting? A backwater colony out in the middle of nowhere. It's a little frustrating."

Veronica just smiled, "You think this is bad? My first posting was a deep space listening post just outside the sol system. Just me and this asshole from the Arcturus system for six months strait, no leave. The only thing I had keeping me from going nuts was a copy of Homer's Iliad."

All of the sudden a third voice entered the conversation. "My first assignment was an Autumn-class cruiser, first day on the job and Regret's fleet smashes us to pieces." The two young officers immediately snapped to attention and saluted the speaker, Captain Victor Straus. The German native was a veteran of the Human-Covenant War, and had served in several anti-remnant actions sense.

"At ease. And get back to work, the civies should be showing up any minute now."

The civilians in question were a group of scientists wanting to study the artifact the _Hades_ and 4 other ships were currently orbiting. It looked vaguely reminiscent of a tuning fork with some rotating rings in the center, the only thing Vilmos Knew about it was its designation, F.T.L. Catapult-Shanxi Theta.

The _Hades_ and the other ships in the small fleet, consisting of three _Washington-class_ corvettes ( _Fists of Furry, Bruce Lee,_ and _Blitz_ ) and one old SDV-class corvette ( _Sacred Prayer_ ) were assigned to provide security for the science team. What would they be guarding against, no one really knew, but they need to be prepared for everything, which is probably why they sent almost half the Shanxi defense fleet to do the job, and had an entire RRF on standby less than a day out.

Personally, Vilmos thought it was just a little too much, the _Hades_ may have lacked an AI do to maintenance issues, but she was still one deadly ship; armed with two of the latest shipboard MACs that could recharge 30% faster than the ones used in the Human-Covenant War, plus a dozen mini-MACs, two dozen point defense guns, and enough plasma-tipped Crossbow missiles to take out a Covenant frigate, you would have to be crazy to try and fight her alone. And she was more than enough for a simple babysitting job.

After a few minutes of waiting the Coms. Officer spoke up, "Captain, Science vessel _Einstein_ has arrived and is requesting permission to precede."

Captain Strauss merely said "Granted"

" _Time to play the waiting game."_ Vilmos thought.

June 14th 2620 (Military Calendar), year 1877 Council Era

Battarian Dreadnought _Right of the Conqueror_

Near Relay 314

Calo Resgerr was in a good mood, and why shouldn't he be, he was in command of a huge force about to bring glory to the Hegemony by conquering unexplored space and possibly brining a new species under the Hegemony's Boot. His fleet consisted of five dreadnaughts, 50 Cruisers, and over 100 frigates, plus enough transport ships to house thousands of slaves, it was one of the largest fleets ever assembled by the Hegemony and certainly the largest currently in existence, oh yes, Resgerr had plenty of reason to be happy.

"Captain, Permission to speak freely." His second in command and trusted friend, Dethan Kakpaba, said,

"By all means old friend. Speak your mind"

"Are you sure this is wise? If, no, When the Turrians find out they will crack down on the Hegemony."

"You worry too much, the Assari will stop them before they can even try."

"I'm not so sure, were violating a lot of laws here, and I don't mean the small ones we break on a daily basis either, I mean the big stuff. Last time one of these was activated it because a galaxy wide war remember."

"What are the odds that there's another species like the Rachni out there? We'll be fine, and you'll be able to give your mate a decent wedding gift, belated as it is."

"Ha ha very funny."

"I know, now shut up I've got a fleet to command."

June 14th 2620 (Military Calendar), year 1877 Council Era

Jacob Keyes-class Destroyer _Wrath of Hades_

Joint-colony system Shanxi

Artifact designation F.T.L.C.-S.T.

Vilmos was in the middle of his 5th game of hangman with the tactical officer when somebody yelled out "Captain, the artifact is activating!"

Captain Strauss didn't waste any time replying "Order the _Einstein_ to fall back now, they're to put us between them and the artifact. Have all ships bring weapons and shields online, do not fire unless fired upon or I give the order." And so the _Hades_ and her crew leapt into action, their through training compensating for their collective inexperience. Moments after the orders were given a fleet of alien vessels popped out of nowhere around the artifact.

"How many and how big?"

The sensors operator took a moment to glance over his readouts, "Over 180 vessels, 5 Cruiser-class, 50 –Frigate or Destroyer-class, a lot of corvette-class ships and what look to be transports forming up on the far side of the fleet."

The captain paused for a moment "Coms, prep the First Contact Package. Let's see if we can't get our new…" The Tactical Officer chose that moment to yell out "Brace!"

The shields flared and the ship started shaking, the captain cried out "What the hell just happened?!"

"The Unknowns just opened fire. Judging by these readings, they're using something similar to our MACs, only firing much smaller rounds at faster speeds."

"Shield status?"

"They could pound us like this all day and not even scratch the paint job. Not sure about the little guys though."

The Coms officer chose that moment to speak out "The _Blitz_ reports minor damage, one of her shield emitters overloaded, she's taking cover behind the _Prayer_. The _Furry_ and the _Lee_ report low shields but they're fine for the moment. Ship Master 'Mucamme reports no real damage, she requests permission to engage."

Before the Captain could reply the Tactical officer shouted "Incoming Missiles!"

The captain practically shouted "Evade"

The _Hades_ lurched to the side attempting to avoid some of the missiles, her automated point defense systems got most of them, but a few still hit.

"Shields down to 40%! Whatever they just hit us with has some serious teeth."

"The _Lee_ is reporting significant damage, the _Furry_ is gone!"

"I'm not seeing any Life pods on my screen!"

"The _Prayer_ , the _Lee_ , and the _Blitz_ are requesting orders Sir!"

Captain Strauss didn't even hesitate and responded with fire in his eyes "Order the _Lee_ and the _Blitz_ to escort the _Einstein_ back to Shanxi, we need to get those civvies to safety and let the fleet know what's happened! Order the _Prayer_ to start ripping those Corvettes a new one! Plot firing solutions for the MACs and missiles, I want at least two of those cruisers and as many of those frigates destroyed in the opening volley as possible!"

And so the battle began in earnest. The two small ships escorting their unarmed charge home as her bigger friends avenged their fallen comrades. The _Prayer_ charged into the enemy formation unleashing a deadly barrage of plasma cannon fire, ripping through the enemy ships like a red hot knife through butter. The _Hades_ fired here main guns into the enemy cruisers, easily shattering the larger behemoths' shields and gutting the ships, with one round even slamming into the cruiser on the opposite side of the ship it hit, shattering its shields and crippling the ship. At the same time, hundreds of Crossbow missiles impacted with the enemy frigates, the plasma-tipped-warheads almost ensuring that a hit equaled a kill. But alas, the enemy had sheer numbers on their side. A second volley of the missiles from before killed the shields on the two Alliance ships leaving them vulnerable to the concentrated firepower of the enemy fleet.

"Full Retreat! Get Us the Hell out of Here! Tell the _Prayer_ to follow!" was Straus's bellowed order. But before his order could be carried out an explosion rocked the ship.

"Engines are down!" Yelled an Officer.

"The Prayer is offering to tow us." The coms officer stated

"Negative" the captain replied "tell them to make best speed home and warn the Alliance. We'll hold them off as long as we can still shoot."

And so the Prayer limped away, whist the Hades unleashed as much fire as she could before her guns went offline, and then all of her remaining crew prepared for what they knew was coming; boarding parties.

June 14th 2620 (Military Calendar), year 1877 Council Era

Battarian Dreadnaught _Right of the Conqueror_

Resgerr was absolutely furious! When he had seen the tiny excuse for a fleet that greeted him and found out that they had no ezo signature he had assumed they were a bunch of primitives who would be easy prey for his much larger fleet. Instead, he had lost over half his Frigates and Cruisers and two of his Dreadnaughts for One. Single. Dammed. Frigate! Not counting the tree ships that had fled early in the fight, one very obviously damaged, or the one cruiser that had taken out his Dreadnaughts and decimated his Cruisers, or the one with the Energy Weapons that had limped away at the end. And that was another thing! Where did a bunch of Primitives get ENERGY WEAPONS!? That monster had ripped his frigates apart like nothing.

Then Kakpaba spoke up "Sir, the boarding parties are ready and are asking whether or not they should take prisoners."

"They are to capture the captain and any women, kill the rest."

June 14th 2620 (Military Calendar), year 1877 Council Era

Jacob Keyes-class Destroyer _Wrath of Hades_

Joint-colony system Shanxi

Artifact designation F.T.L.C.-S.T.

When the Battarians boarded the damaged ship, they probably expected light resistance, the crew having presumably been either killed or demoralized to the point of surrender. What they got, was a ship full of soldiers opening up on them with apparently primitive guns that still tore through the barriers on the first couple of boarders. The Battarirans had to kill practically everyone they encountered, just to get them to stop shooting. The ferocity of these new aliens, astounded the Battarians, even Turrians didn't offer this much of a fight. Still, the Battarians had a lot more men to through away than these aliens did, and thus the Battarians slowly pushed towards what was believed to be the Cruiser's bridge. As they blew open the door the saw one alien in a particularly ornate uniform, the captain perhaps, and a female finish doing something with a console in the center of the bridge and opened fire. They quickly secured the room and were about to start executing the male prisoners, when an automated voice spoke out in a language the boarders didn't understand, the alien captain started laughing and this confused the leader of the boarders, until he noticed the console from earlier was flashing red and had what was unmistakably a countdown timer on its display.

"Shit! Get back to the pods! These fuckers rigged the ship to bl…." The poor fellow never got the chance to finish. For just then the timer hit zero and the ship, and a pair of Battarian frigates that were two dammed close, were swallowed up by a brilliant fireball as the _Hades_ ' reactor overloaded, Captain Strauss and his crew would later be decorated for exceptional valor and all would receive a posthumous one-rank promotion.

June 14th 2620 (Military Calendar), year 1877 Council Era

Battarian Dreadnaught _Right of the Conqueror_

Resgerr and Kakpaba could only stare in amazement and horror as the alien ship exploded.

After a moment Resgerr finally asked "What does that bring our losses up to?"

Kakpaba took a moment to look over some figures before answering "Two dreadnaughts, 36 cruisers, 64 frigates lost, one dreadnaught, 12 cruisers, 28 frigates damaged, and all of our boarding parties killed. I hate to say it but we won't be able to survive another engagement with these, people, not without some significant reinforcements."

Resgerr seethed, this was supposed to be his moment of glory, his crowning achievement, and now he would be lucky if he wasn't shot for his incompetence. He sighed before turning to his old friend, "Send word to the Ruling Council and the Admiralty, give them the details of this incident and tell them we need reinforcements." Kakpaba look at his friend with concern, "If we do this, you know what they'll do to you."

"I do." Was the short reply.

Kakpaba nodded before going to make his report. Resgerr merely looked out the view port at what remained of his fleet, and wished that the locals got to him before the higher ups did.

Their revenge would likely be more merciful than the punishment that awaited him.


End file.
